Kidnapped
by bruisedfingers
Summary: Sasuke disappears, and Itachi isn't doing a good job at hiding his worry. He's been out and about, but is Itachi's physical health going to stop him? [Brotherly love.]
1. Problems Begin

A/N: alright, don't even ask how this came to mind. it just did. :p because i luffles little! sasuke-kun. D and i luffles itachi-sama. hehe. so there. ;D

I dun own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke would be a yaoi bunny.

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Sasuke walked quickly towards Itachi's room, a hop in his step. Itachi wasn't doing anything today, since he had a slight cold. Sasuke had asked his mother if it would be alright for Itachi to help him with his kunai skills, and Mikoto had said it would be okay for a short while. Sasuke was overwhelmed with joy. Maybe Itachi would say yes this time.

He reached Itachi's room and knocked softly. No one ever bothered trying to open the door by themselves, anyway; it was always locked.

Slowly, the door opened, revealing the older Uchiha. Itachi looked a bit different, mostly because of the cold. His hair was down, and slightly messy, and his face was pale.

"What?" Itachi said coldly, leaning in the doorway. Sasuke couldn't help but smile. He'd never seen his brother so disheveled. Itachi was always picture perfect, making sure his hair was perfectly brushed and his clothes weren't too much of a mess. His appearance right now seemed to go against the laws of Itachi's life, not that you could ever say that to his face.

"Niisan, Okasan said it was okay if you helped me with my kunai techniques," Sasuke said, "Will you be up for it?" Itachi gave him a blank look, then looked off to the side, as if thinking. Sasuke tilted his head slightly, waiting for a response. Finally, Itachi looked back.

"No. Don't ask me again," he said. Before Sasuke could protest, the door was slammed in his face, and if he had been any closer, his nose would've been chopped off.

Sasuke stared at Itachi's door for a minute, than finally gave up and walked away, the joy completely gone. He should've known Itachi would never say yes. Itachi didn't want to have to do anything with him.

Back in Itachi's room, Itachi was picking up broken pieces of glass. He was surprised no one had heard the figurine break, especially since he had thrown it across the room. The small glass figure had broken into a ton of tiny little pieces, scrambled across the floor.

He had a reason for throwing the figure; he was angry. Mostly at his parents, always judging him and expecting him to be the best Uchiha in the whole clan. Than at some of the other Uchihas, who followed him wherever he went, poking him in the side, asking him what his secret was.

The truth was, he had no secret. He just had a will for power. He was like everyone else, besides his power. He had a typical mom and dad, and a little brother who constantly annoyed him to do things with him. One of those typical lives, just like everyone else. Why didn't they understand that?

Itachi threw the glass pieces in the trash and laid back in his bed, curling up under the covers. This cold was killing him; it felt like more of a cold, sudden urges to throw up (though he never did), constant coughing, a stuffed-up nose, and don't forget about the major headaches that just loved to pop out of nowhere.

Of course, when he was outside his room, he acted as if the cold wasn't so bad, only some coughing and sneezing. Not at all a big deal. But when he got to his room, he would sit in his bathroom for a good half hour, then sneak into his bed to try and force himself to sleep.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, slowly drifting to sleep, in spite of the lump in his throat, and the guilt for treating his brother so badly slowly coming over him.

--------------------------

"Sasuke!" Mikoto called, while stirring the soup on the stove. Sasuke rushed into the kitchen, looking up at his mother.

"Yes, Okasan?" Sasuke asked, walking over to his mother's side. _Poor baby. Itachi never gives you a chance,_ Mikoto thought to herself as she patted Sasuke's head. She set the wooden spoon next to the stove as she leaned down to become eye-to-eye with Sasuke.

"Could you go down to the store and get me some onions?" she asked, taking the money out of her pocket and putting it in Sasuke's hand. Sasuke nodded, holding the money tightly in his hand.

"Be careful. And--" she started, but was interrupted by Sasuke.

"Don't talk to strangers. I know, you say it everytime. Don't worry, nothing ever happens," Sasuke said, a weak smile appearing on his face. Mikoto giggled quietly, and hugged Sasuke quickly.

"Alright. But don't take any chances, okay?" she said, kissing his cheek. He nodded, and ran towards the door quickly, waving before he closed it again, walking down the path.

-------------------------

"Itachi! Dinner!" Mikoto yelled up the stairs, and blinked when she heard nor response, or even a groan. She sighed and walked up the stairs, and knocked on Itachi's door.

"Itachi, it's dinner time," she said. Yet again, there was no response. Mikoto looked around, then slowly opened the door, surprised to even find it unlocked.

Mikoto smiled slightly at the sight of her older son. He was curled up in his blankets, hugging the pillow tightly. She walked over and caressed his cheek softly.

"C'mon, big boy, it's time for dinner," she said. Itachi finally opened his eyes, slapping her hand away from his face lightly. She pulled away and started walking towards the door.

"Hurry up," she said, and walked back downstairs to the kitchen. Itachi groaned as he stood up, and threw the pillow on the ground. Slowly, he walked downstairs and walked into the dining room, collapsing in one of the chairs.

"Well, we were going to have onion soup," Mikoto said to Fugaku, pouring soup into his bowl, "But a certain Sasuke hasn't returned with the onions yet, so I had to make a vegetable soup. Speaking of Sasuke." She looked at Itachi, who was finally starting to become awake again. At least, awake enough to realize she was meaning for him to go find the younger sibling. He sighed, and stood up from his chair, going towards the door to put his shoes on.

"Fine, fine. I'll go get the runt," he said, slipping his shoes on. Mikoto smiled lightly and poured soup into Itachi's bowl, even though he wasn't going to be sitting there anytime soon.

"Thank you. Be careful, and be quick. Your dinner will get cold." He nodded and was out the door in a second, just wanting to get it over with.

-----------------------

The path to the store wasn't very long. It was only about a mile or so, and you got a good rest, because you waited in line for almost a half hour.

The whole time you walked to the store, the scenery was mainly forests and small houses in the distance. But there was an abandoned house halfway down the path, and it was not too far in the woods, and you could see it from the path. Not very well, but it was visible.

This time, when Itachi reached the part where you usually saw the house, he was surprised to find the house completely invisible, as if it wasn't even there anymore. He stopped, staring out, examining for the house, but found no trace of it. He shrugged, but stopped dead in his tracks.

On the ground was a kunai, and then a trail of blood leading into the forest. Itachi thought about following the trail, but found someone must've had to kill an animal with a kunai, dropped the kunai and dragged the dead body away. That was it.

After a while, he finally reached the store. He went inside and looked around, seeing Sasuke was not in the store, and then went to the clerk.

"Excuse me, but did you see a young boy come in here earlier?" he asked. The store clerk paused, then shook her head. Itachi thanked her anyways and then ran out of the store as fast as possible, determined to now follow that trail of blood.

But when he got there, the trail was completely gone, and so was the kunai.

----------------------------

"I wonder what's taking him so long," Mikoto asked, swallowing a vegetable. Fugaku nodded, and looked up at her.

"I'm sure they're fine. Maybe he just took a short trip to another store to get something for himself with the change," he said, then looked back at his food. Mikoto smiled.

"You're probably right." They continued eating, tension filling the silence. Finally, footsteps were heard outside, but only one pair of feet were heard, and they were running. The door slammed open, and Itachi ran over to his parents, sweating on his face.

"He's gone."

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A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Ownd. Don't worry, next chapter up soon.


	2. Gagged Screams

A/N: Naruto belongs to Mashashi Kishimoto, blah blah blah.. I forgot that in the first chapter, and I apologize.. It was probably 8:30 at night when I started to right that.. so there. Leave the poor Jackie alone. x3 Anyways, this one has cuddling between the two Uchiha siblings. Kawaii. :3 Hope you like it. Also, wanted to let you know its 7-year-old Sasuke and 14-year-old Itachi.

**THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!**

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"He's gone."

Mikoto dropped her spoon, making a metallic sound when it hit the bowl. She stood up, putting her hands on either side of Itachi's shoulders. Fugaku jumped up after her, standing next to the two.

"Itachi... Are you trying to fool your mother?" Mikoto asked. You could tell she was trying to be as calm as she could be. She kept herself from screaming, as sweatdrops fell down her face. They say it's a mother's instinct to freak out when someone says their child is gone.

"I went to the store, and he was never there. I searched for evidence on the path, if maybe he went into the woods, but I found nothing," Itachi said, looking at his mother, trying to hide the fact he felt worry sneaking into his state of mind. Itachi never cared for Mikoto or Fugaku; he thought they were weak, simply spoiling him. But there was always a soft spot for his little brother. He would hold his brother through the night if he was scared, which he did once.

/Flashback

Itachi snuggled up into his bed, exhausted. His day had been full of missions, and when he had gotten home, he had to do a ton of junk for his parents. He was ready to pass out, when he felt someone shaking him.

"Niisan.." Sasuke's voice rang in his head. Itachi opened one eye to see the younger sibling standing there, shivering. Sasuke twiddled his fingers, a look of fear and uneasiness plastered on his face. Itachi sighed and sat up.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Itachi asked. Sasuke whimpered and hopped onto Itachi's bed, and sat in front of his older brother. He paused, as if choking for the words, than he snook next to his brother.

"Niisan.. I had a bad dream.." Sasuke said, looking down, acting ashamed. Itachi blinked, than chuckled quietly. Sasuke looked up at his brother, looking a bit offended when Itachi laughed, but shrugged it off.

"Well, you know, it's better if you talk about it, than it goes away," Itachi said, patting Sasuke's head. Sasuke pouted, but snuggled closer to his brother. Those lips were made for pouting, curling up into the perfect frown to buy anyone's heart.

"It will be a while 'til it goes away, Niisan.. It was about you.." Sasuke said. Itachi blinked, now stroking Sasuke's head, stroking it exactly how you would stroke a cat's head. About him? It must've been some fucked-up dream then. It seemed Itachi was becoming a nightmare to himself these days.

Sasuke looked at his brother, waiting for Itachi to say something, and sighed when he didn't. This meant he had to tell the whole story, and he didn't really want to. He knew if he fell asleep, cuddled in Itachi's arms, things would be okay.

"W-Well... You..." Sasuke closed his eyes. "You came out of nowhere and.. killed everyone.." Itachi stared at Sasuke, but showed no shock or surprise. In fact, his expression showed more restlessness at the words. As a shinobi with such power, of course it occured to his mind before; he was set in a container, being forced to follow the rules of the village. That wasn't his sort of thing. But he couldn't tell Sasuke that, not now or never. You could call him crazy if he did.

"It was just a dream.. just forget about it and go back to bed, okay?" Itachi said, laying back down. Sasuke paused, then looked at the ceiling, then back at his brother. Itachi sighed and looked back at Sasuke, questioning why Sasuke didn't go back now.

"But Niisan... It's cold in my room," Sasuke said, trying his best to make up an excuse. Itachi paused, then chuckled quietly. He sighed and beckoned for Sasuke to get in the covers next to him.

"Alright, alright. You can sleep with me," Itachi said, smiling when he turned to his side. Sasuke's face brightened and he snook under the covers, cuddling close to his brother. He snuggled close to Itachi's chest, enjoying the extra warmth he was getting. Itachi paused, then wrapped his arms around his little brother, falling asleep very quickly that night.

/End Flashback.

He almost laughed at the memory, but found that it really wasn't the apropriate time to be laughing. Mikoto was about to have a mental breakdown, and Fugaku had already decided he was going to get a search party to look for Sasuke. Not exactly the right time.

"My poor baby is lost!" Mikoto cried, crying into her husband's chest. Fugaku held her and comforted her the best he could. Itachi snarled. His father probably could care less; sure, maybe he cared, but Itachi knew that Fugaku would be in much, much more sorrow if Itachi was lost. It'd be a big deal then. But oh, not now, not when Sasuke was missing. Of course, he could be overexaggerating.

"Don't worry. He won't be missing for long," Itachi said, before walking out the door to investigate the path once again. He was very curious about that blood trail, and the fact it disappeared the moment he realized Sasuke was gone. So, he was going to calculate where he the blood trail had been, by clues and memory. Hopefully, he could find Sasuke soon.

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Sasuke opened his eyes, confused when he felt like he was being constricted around his body. He tried to call out 'Niisan', but all that came out was a Mmph sound. Shock ran through him, as he started trying to stand up, but wasn't able to do much good of it.

He looked down at himself to find his body was tied in rope. No wonder, and he could feel a dust rag tied around his head and put in his mouth to be used as a gag. He whimpered, worried about where he was, and what the hell had happened.

"Calm down, young one," a voice came from the shadows. Sasuke would've yelped, if the noise wasn't blocked out. Instead, he started to push himself away from where he thought the voice was coming from, getting closer and closer to the wall. Sasuke stopped when he felt not a wall, but legs against him when he pushed far enough. He looked up to see a taller man standing there.

"My, my, you're very lively, aren't you?" the man said, kneeling down next to Sasuke. The man wasn't clearly visible in the darkness, there was only was window in the room he was in, and the curtains were closed. Sasuke could see the man's earrings, silver and in some strange shape that Sasuke couldn't comprehend at the moment.

"Now, calm down. You might get yourself hurt," he said, tracing his finger along Sasuke's face. Sasuke stared at the man, shocked, than started to struggle even more. The touch of the man had sent shivers through him. This stranger reminded him of a vampire he saw in a movie once; the vampire would taunt his prey, and trace his finger along the prey's body, than would bite into the prey's neck quite lovingly, though only bloodlust showed in his eyes. Sasuke hoped this man didn't have bloodlust in his eyes, man, would he be in trouble then.

"I'm sorry, I can't take that gag out just yet. But don't worry, soon enough you can talk again," the man said, then stood back up. Sasuke stared at the man, eyes practically begging for freedom, yet he knew known would come. The stranger did sigh though, as he walked out of a door that Sasuke hadn't noticed before. There was light for a minute, until the door was closed again. Then he heard a dead bolt being locked, and the man walking further and further.

Sasuke whimpered, closing his eyes. It's a dream, just a dream. And don't worry; you'll wake up any minute. If not, sure enough, Okasan is going to wake you up for breakfast soon. It's just a nightmare.

But as he sat there, he realized this wasn't a dream, though it was a nightmare. This was real. He was in an unknown place, with an unknown man, and worse of all, he couldn't do anything about it. But only God knew what was in store for him now, whether it be freedom, or death.

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Itachi was kneeling on the ground, looking carefully as the dirt path. There had to be some evidence to the blood tail. Itachi felt like Sherlock Holmes, as he carefully dusted off some dirt, and almost let out an 'A-ha!' at what he saw.

The culprit had tried his best to get rid of the blood, than put a new supply of dirt over it. Under the dirt he had just dusted, was a thin and faded line of blood. He dusted more off, to find the trail leaded right into the forest.

He stood up, and started walking into the woods. Hopefully, the culprit kept going straight. He would definitley make sure of it, though.

-----------------

Itachi paused, standing there, about a half-mile from where he was before. Something was extremely fishy about this. There was some sort of tension in the air, and he stood there for a good five minutes, until he realized.

The small, abandoned house was gone.

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A/N: Another cliffhanger. Boo-hoo. xD Well, a lot of smart people could guess who the culprit is. Well, you people are smart. XDD Well hopefully this chapter is good, too, though not very long...


	3. Breathless

A/N: CHAPTER THREE, w00t! I still don't own Naruto. If I did, this would've really happened. xD Evil Jackie.

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Sasuke had been sitting in the dark for a while, until the man had returned and put a cloth over his mouth. The cloth smelled like alcohol, making Sasuke grimace in disgust. Then he had felt woozy and went unconscious. That was all he remembered about that night. Or was it day? He couldn't tell in that dark room.

And now he was in another room that was lighted more. He could see himself, at least; his hair was messy, and he had bruises and cuts all over. Some cuts were reopening, small streams of blood pouring down from them and onto the wooden floor. He could tell that some of his skin was being irritated by the ropes that were binding his body, and he could feel it, too. Sasuke wished he had a kunai at the moment, but he had tried to move his hand towards his kunai holder, and found it was no longer there. The man had taken all his weapons, and had left him immobile in a dark room. He couldn't wait to find out who the man was.

He sighed, closing his eyes, wanting to go to sleep. The door creaking open made him open his eyes again, and saw no one there, but the door was wide open. Sasuke stared desperately at the light, wanting to crawl over, but felt someone's grip from behind him. He turned his head and saw the man, his face much more clear now in the light. The man smirked, and undid the gag that had left Sasuke unable to talk, and ran a hand through Sasuke's hair.

"You're a very pretty little boy, you know that?" the man said, tracing his finger along Sasuke's face. Sasuke stared at the man's hand for a minute, than looked at the man's face. His skin was a creamy peach colour, his bright blue eyes highlighting the colour of his skin. The man had long, brown hair hanging down loose, though it seemed to be perfectly neat. He wore tan pants, and a cadet blue sweater, very casual. Finally, Sasuke reorganized his train of thought and glared at the man.

"Don't touch me!" Sasuke yelled, anger in his eyes. This was the man who had taken him from somewhere and dragged him to this hellhole, with blood dripping down his legs and arms. The man frowned, and took his hand away.

"Now now, don't fret. You'll be alright, as long as you're a good boy," the man said, smiling again. Sasuke shivered, and he looked back down at his bloody legs. They looked much bloodier in the light, and in worse shape. Sasuke's gaze went to his arms, and saw they were much worse, also.

"What did you do to me?" Sasuke asked, making sure to add some rage to his tone. The man merely chuckled quietly and stood up, walking towards the door. A tinge of fear hit Sasuke. The door would be closed again, leaving him in the dark room by himself.

"I'll be back. You haven't eaten in days, you know," the man said, walking out, grabbing the doorknob to close it. Sweatdrops fell down Sasuke's face as the man started closing it. The young Uchiha's eyes stared at the hand on the knob, and sighed in relief when the door was left open slightly. He didn't care if that meant the man pitied him; he was sick of the darkness.

Sasuke started struggling, trying to wiggle his arms out from the ropes tight grip, but failed once again. He'd been trying it for the few times he'd been awake, thinking of how worried his parents were, and how calm Itachi must be. Silent tears had started falling as he tried his hardest to escape the ropes, and gave up miserably, falling to his side on the ground, tears falling onto the wood.

His mind suddenly wandered to his older brother. Itachi must've been sitting in his room reading a book or training in the woods, as his parents ran around in search parties looking for him. Why did Itachi despise him so? What had he done wrong? Sasuke sighed and relaxed. _Just live through it,_ he told himself,_ it should be over soon enough. _

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Itachi was back at the blood trail by himself, again. He had lost his path last time, and Mikoto had told him to give up a while in the forest, especially since he was sick. Three days seemed a bit long, but on the day after the third, Itachi was out the door in a flash. Now he was following the blood trail perfectly, making sure he could still see the blood as he walked.

As he got deeper in the forest, the whole scenario got darker. Worry hit him as he quickened his pace, thinking about Sasuke alone in the dark, shivering cold. Worry turned into fear as he went in a slight trot, trying to keep along the lines.

He stopped in the middle of the dark forest, falling to his knees as he went into a coughing fit. He hadn't realized, but being out so much looking for his brother had made his "cold" even worse. Itachi clutched his stomach with one hand, and the other hand went limp next to his side.

As he kneeled in the grass, the coughing got worse, echoing through the silence forest. Small creatures rustled in their homes, some peeking out to see what the hell that noise could possibly be. It must be foreign to all the animals, since it seemed so isolated back here. The forest didn't even have a name, just displayed as an extremely large forest on a map.

Blood started coming out along with the coughs, making Itachi weaker by every cough. Itachi started shaking, but told himself to keep sitting there. He wasn't weak, he'd be alright in a minute, you'll be alright in a minute. The thought started to fade away as his own consciousness started to fade. His body fell from its kneeling position, and he laid on his side in the grass. Blood poured down from his mouth as the coughing started to end, but as the coughing became less continuous, Itachi faded. Faded and faded until nothing could be seen but black.

---------------------

The man had come back with a small plate of food, sitting in front of Sasuke. Sasuke eyed the food, curiosity on his face. The man had smiled and taken the fork with food on it, pushing it into Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke blinked when the food hit his mouth, but ate it, just realizing how starving he was.

"Why can't you just untie me and let me eat on my own?" Sasuke asked, after swallowing. The man chuckled, and put food back on the fork.

"You'd try to run away, little one," he said, pushing the fork back into Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke ate that too, and realized he was eating sushi. He had tried it not too long ago and hated the taste, even though he loved fish. Sasuke had vowed to never eat sushi again, and now look at him. Not only was he eating it, but he was eating it to desperately, he could've been mistaken for a very skinny pig.

After the food was gone, the man stood up, carrying the empty plate and the fork in his hand. Sasuke stared at the man as he walked towards the door.

"Wait! When are you coming back?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the voice in his head telling him he was an idiot for wanting the man around. The truth was, he didn't want the man around, he just wanted some company. It was lonely in the room, sitting against the wall, staring at the wall. It seemed that when the man came in, his thoughts moved away from thoughts of his family, which was good. Thinking of them just made things worse. The man chuckled at Sasuke's words, looking back towards Sasuke's direction.

"Hmm, I'll be around. If you're that lonely, maybe I'll come later," the man said, smiling, his eyes glistening in the light of the door. Sasuke gulped, than nodded, looking down at the ground. The man turned back towards his path and walked out the door, closing the door. A sigh escaped Sasuke's mouth as he sat against the wall once again, staring at the wall, thinking about his family.

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"Itachi, please wake up!" was all the older Uchiha could hear. His eyes slowly opened and he saw his mother's face over him, clutching him tightly. Itachi sat up and coughed, then spit some blood out of his mouth on the ground. Mikoto sighed in relief and hugged Itachi, only to be pushed away.

"Itachi, what happened?" Fugaku asked, whom was kneeling next to his wife. Itachi blinked, looking up at the sky. They were still in the darker part of the forest. They had apparently found him here. Suddenly, he remembered completely what had happened. Itachi sighed at the memory.

"It was just a coughing fit, that's all.." Itachi said, scratching his head. Fugaku blinked, a bit confused, but Mikoto burst out in anger and worry at the same time.

"Just a coughing fit! Listen to that crap! Itachi, you were on the ground with blood pouring down your mouth! You sent me to tears! I almost lost both of my sons.." Mikoto said, and yes, it was true, tears were falling down her face. Fugaku rubbed her back, but looked at Itachi sternly at the same time. Itachi made no response, but struggled to stand up with his weak body. Mikoto shook her head and laid him on the ground, looking at Fugaku. Fugaku nodded, and helped Itachi stand up, putting one of his arms around Itachi's waist and putting Itachi's arm around his shoulders, holding that arm with his hand.

"Let's get home.. We'll have to clean you up.." Mikoto said, and that was the last thing she said for a long time as they walked home. Tension-filled silence filled the three as they finally reached the house, Fugaku carrying Itachi up to his room. After Itachi was laid down, Fugaku had one of his talks with him about 'being more careful from now on' and all that good stuff. Then, after Fugaku had left, Itachi had wrote his failure down in his journal.

Next time he'd have to bring medicine, and some bandages.

----------------------

The man had returned a few hours later, now wearing black sweatpants and a white tanktop. This told Sasuke it was most likely night now. Dinner had passed, and the man had changed into a relaxing outfit. Besides, the man seemed a bit tired, yawning when he first came in and sitting lazily next to Sasuke.

"What am I supposed to call you?" Sasuke asked after the long silence. The man looked at him, and smiled. Probably the most normal smile he'd ever made so far.

"Call me Saseko," he said, patting Sasuke's head. Sasuke blinked and looked down at the ropes, sighing. Saseko's smile faded, seeing Sasuke struggling over the ropes so much.

"Hold still," Saseko said, grabbing the rope knot. Sasuke yelped when Saseko's hand suddenly went towards his backside, grabbing the tight rope. His hand tugged on the knot slowly, then untied it. The ropes fell loose on Sasuke's body, and fell off. Sasuke stared in amazement at the ropes, then stared at his skin. It was red, and had many scratches, most likely from when he tried to escape the ropes.

Sasuke sighed after finally realizing he was free from the ropes grip. Saseko smiled, but yet again, it was that creepy smile that made Sasuke shiver thinking about. The smile still shone as the man grabbed one rope, taking out a small dagger, and cutting it into a smaller rope.

"Where am I?" Sasuke asked as the man took Sasuke's hands and tied them together with the smaller rope. Sasuke eyes moved to the ground, feeling ashamed and weak. The man laughed quietly, and tightly tied the rope.

"Your new home." And that man stood up, walked out the door, and it seemed like forever until he returned again.

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A/N: nope, its not Orochimaru-sama. ; Hehe. I'm evil. I almost cried writing this chapter...


	4. Mind Rattling

**Moonflower: **Nope, it isn't Orochimaru! At first, I was planning on having it him, but then I decided otherwise because I'm an evil jerk. XD

**Oztan: **Well, it's updated now. :

**Naruto82muchramen: **Yeah, well Saseko is so much like Orochimaru-sama because at first I was planning on having it Orochimaru. But then I said, hey, what the hell, I'll make my own kidnapper! XD .. And oh my gosh, you're right. o.o I can't believe I didn't notice that. And thank you, I see Mikoto as an obsessed mother who constantly worries about her two boys

**FXL: **We shall pray for the finding of Sasuke-kun. ;-;

**Tajiko: **Arigatou! I'll try my best.

**Planet na martian: **MWAHAHAHAHA -coughs- Personally.. so was I. XD

**SasukeDragon: **XD Okay, okay, I'll update!! –gives you cookies- Here! XD Now relax! So many questions. :P

**Foxiia:** Aha, yeah, Saseko just seemed to fit him. XD And well, it's very good you don't know who Saseko is. Otherwise, I'd call you a stalker. :P 'Cause I sort of just made him up in my head one day. XD And don't worry, there shall be plenty more cliffhangers on the way.

A/N: I found this sitting on my computer and told myself to finish it if I wanted to live. Especially since I got so many reviews – which made me very happy – I couldn't help but to finish it. I only wrote the last paragraph now, though. The rest of it was all written. There may be errors, since I didn't reread it. XD

"Did you take your pills?"

"Yes."

"Put on new bandages?"

"Yes."

"Drink plenty of fluids?"

"Yes! Please, I know what I'm doing.

"... All right. Fine. Go ahead. Just be careful."

Mikoto looked back down at the letter she was writing  
to her sister, Sayuri. She was writing Sayuri to tell  
her about the current events, and also inviting her  
for tea, to refresh their memories. The two sisters  
hadn't talked in a while, both very busy with their  
children and spouses. But they were getting older, and  
they needed to get together. Besides, she needed the  
comfort of her loving older sister in her state of  
matter. Mikoto already missed her youngest son dearly;  
he was always the one who wanted hugs, and was  
affection. She loved Itachi, but he never wanted to  
talk to her about anything. He never stayed in her  
presence for too long.

Itachi walked towards the door, glad to have finally  
gotten his mother off his back. She was a real pain in  
the ass sometimes. Always badgering him about his  
health. He knew what he needed to do now; he had  
simply messed up before. It wasn't going to happen  
again. And if it did, well, he was screwed. And so was  
Sasuke, since Mikoto and Fugaku hadn't done much about  
it yet besides whine and act dejected. It made Itachi  
sick that loving parents could do that. Say they  
missed their son terribly, but let the sibling do all  
the dirty work, while they complained about the  
'loneliness' and the 'misery'.

Today, Itachi was going back to where he had the  
coughing fit. Not only to continue looking for Sasuke,  
but also to find out what had made him go into such a fit.  
It couldn't all be from his fever; maybe it was  
something that was natural in the air that he inhaled  
too much of. Whatever it was, he was very curious. But  
Itachi was very disappointed. Even after examining the  
whole area here he flipped out in coughs, nothing  
showed that it was natural. There wasn't any type of  
weird crap in the air, nor was there anything on the  
plants. Though examining the area was a failure, it  
still gave him more time on finding his younger  
sibling.

Itachi spotted the last part of the blood trail he had  
uncovered and followed it, kicking dirt away to reveal  
the faded blood. Soon enough, he found himself in  
front of a tree. The tree was a large maple, old and  
sturdy. Up the tree, there was a treehouse in it. It  
was nicely built, the ladder still stable. The  
treehouse was in there good, since it wasn't new, and  
storms came often. Itachi decided to check it out, and  
started climbing up the wooden ladder.

He reached the top and stepped into the treehouse, and  
stood up. The walls were bare, and the floor had one  
round rug in the middle. There weren't any windows,  
which made it very dark in the small treehouse. There  
was a bookshelf, but there weren't any books inside;  
instead, there were ropes, chains, beartraps, muzzles,  
shackles, handcuffs, fetters, almost any type of trap  
or restrain known to man. Itachi was suspicious by  
this, but decided to ignore it. A hunter probably  
built this place for when he or she was lost, and  
having no where to go, find the treehouse and stay  
there for a while.

Outside, there was a small porch. Itachi stepped out  
of the small door, and walked onto the porch. And  
looking back into the treehouse from the porch, he  
could've sworn he saw blood on the ground, but it was  
too late as he felt himself fall under the wood.

---------------------------

_Dear Sayuri, _

I haven't written you in a while, or talked to you,  
and so I thought I should tell you some things that  
have been occurring around here lately. Well, not too  
long ago, Sasuke went to the store for me and didn't  
come back. He's been gone ever since. Itachi has been  
trying to find him, and gotten himself hurt in the  
process. I never knew the two had such a bond, since  
Itachi never sacrifices his own time for another, and  
especially not his physical health. In fact, Itachi  
has a fever, and went out anyway. I tried to stop him,  
but he'd just sneak out. Fugaku said just to let him  
go, they were brothers after all. He's very right,  
because even though Itachi never spends time with  
Sasuke, he would've argue with going somewhere with  
him if we asked him to. Maybe not very enthusiastic  
about it, but he'd go.

_  
You don't realize what kind of string is held  
between you and your child until they're gone, just  
like you said. I knew I loved Sasuke so much, and he  
was the only child I had that would give me hugs and  
kisses, since Itachi was never affection in his days.  
The only time Itachi got close to me from free will  
was when he was a baby, but that is just instinct. But  
Sasuke always loves to run up and hug me, and I never  
realized how much I would miss it after he left. I  
didn't know I'd have to deal with that feeling until  
he left for his own adult needs. Instead of when he's  
twenty-one, he's eight-years-old. Okasan always said,  
"Doesn't matter if things aren't supposed to come out  
for 100 years. They always come out earlier then you  
think they will."_

_  
Itachi went looking for Sasuke four days ago, and  
didn't come home for hours, and we got very worried  
when he wasn't home in the morning. There weren't any  
notes, so we went out for him. We found his footprints  
and followed them, until we found him on the ground,  
blood pouring from his mouth. I was a worried wreck,  
and Itachi acted like it was nothing when he awoke. He  
said he simply had a coughing fit and passed out from  
it. The boy makes me worry so much, Sayuri, and then  
he never tells me the whole story. Someday, he'll  
understand why I worry about him so much. Hopefully.  
So, I'm inviting you for tea at our house next  
Sunday. It'll just be you and me since Fugaku will be  
on a two-week mission starting in two days. Does 2:00  
sound good? If not, just give me a call and tell me  
when we can arrange something. I'll tell you the  
details then. I don't feel very comfortable going deep  
with the story on paper. You understand, don't you?  
Hope the girls and Takato are doing well. I hope to  
be hearing from you soon._  


Love,  
Mikoto

Sayuri put the letter down, than picked it up again,  
rereading it. Finally, she put it down, and jumped  
when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over  
and saw her husband, Takato, still next to her, a  
concerned look on his face. Sayuri smiled weakly and  
leaned into his touch. Takato smiled and wrapped his  
arms around her, holding her tight. Even after so many  
years of marriage, their love still hasn't died. It  
was just as true as when they kissed at their wedding.

"Sasuke is missing. He's been missing for two weeks,"  
Sayuri finally said, looking up at her husband. The  
sadness and worry had finally shown over her face;  
Sayuri had a soft spot for Sasuke too. Itachi was her  
godchild, and she loved him just as much as she loved  
Sasuke, but as Mikoto had said in her letter, Itachi  
didn't seem to care about love and family.

"Sasuke? Little Sasuke?" Takato stared at his wife in  
disbelief, and almost asked if she was lying. But he  
could tell she wasn't, especially since her eyes were  
starting to water. He hugged her tightly, holding her  
closely to his chest. Sayuri snuggled into his arms,  
tears falling silently down her cheeks.

"I'm going to see Mikoto for tea next Sunday. I might  
be there all day.." Sayuri said. Takato nodded, and it  
seemed like forever they sat in silence. Until Yoriko  
and Yoshiko came in, gasping at the sight of their  
mother in tears, like 15-year-olds do. They joined in  
comforting their mother, amazed by the news  
themselves.

-------------------

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes, ready to fall asleep.  
He hadn't seen Saseko much lately, except when he came  
and fed him food silently. But the three times a day  
had turned to two, and then the two had turned to one,  
and that one feeding had gone to a big, fat zero.  
Sasuke felt abandoned and hungry, sitting in the  
corner of the dark room, thirsty for light and warmth.  
It had been two days since Saseko had last come, even  
been in the house, Sasuke thought. No noises came from  
outside the door, the house completely silent.  
Sometimes he heard a dog walking around, but there  
were no extra human steps walking with it. The dog  
would lie in front of the door sometimes. Other times  
it would pace, or scratch on the door. It sounded like  
a smaller dog, maybe a beagle.

Sasuke started to drift off to sleep, when he heard  
the dog barking rapidly and loudly outside the door in  
a threatening tone. Sasuke jumped, eyes opening right  
away. His heart raced, and then he calmed when he  
realized something just scared the dog. He  
sighed and stared at the door blankly, waiting for the  
door to calm down. The dog did stop after a while, but  
now was whining and walking into the depths of the  
house, the whine fading into the distance.

Silence hit the house once again. Sasuke looked around  
the room and spied a bookshelf. Near the bookshelf,  
there was the window with the curtains pulled tightly  
together to cover it. If he could stand up, he could  
get out of here. It didn't seem as if Saseko was  
around anyway, so if he made noise, it wouldn't  
matter. There couldn't be neighbors around, and if  
there were, then he would just get dragged back home  
by the cops. Neighbors always called the cops in  
moments when they heard windows breaking.

At first, the trip seemed like a complete failure,  
falling the minute he even got to his feet. He groaned  
and whimpered in pain after hitting the wooden floor,  
and tried again. Putting his face at the top of the  
bookshelf, he started to pull himself up. He leaned  
against the bookshelf, trying to get his balance, and  
finally got himself together. When he first started  
walking towards the window, he felt a pain jerk  
through his legs. He ignored the pain, and soon got  
used to it. Finally, he reached the window. It seemed  
as if the whole plan was a success.

"Where do you think you're going?" Saseko's voice came  
from behind him. He froze, and slowly turned his head  
to see Saseko right behind him. Saseko wasn't very  
happy, you could tell. He had a frown printed on his  
face, and his hair was messy. Sasuke gulped and shook  
slightly at the sight of Saseko. He was in trouble,  
and he knew it.

Saseko grabbed Sasuke's hair and pulled him away from  
the window, throwing him on the floor. Sasuke  
groaned in pain as he once again felt the sensation of  
hitting the wooden floor. Saseko towered over him and  
kicked him in the side. Pain shot through Sasuke's  
body, and Sasuke finally realized he was more injured  
then he thought.

"Let me tell you one thing," Saseko said, picking  
Sasuke up from his hair again and pushing him against  
the wall, far away from the window. Before Sasuke knew  
it, the ropes were off his hands, but now his hands  
were restrained against the wall by some sort of  
metal. Sasuke panted and looked up, fear and pain  
showing in his face.

"Don't mess with me." And at the words, Saseko walked  
out, slamming the door behind him. Tears fell down  
Sasuke's face. He had almost made it, almost escaped.

And once again, the dog lay down by his door.

-------------------------

Itachi groaned, and opened his eyes. For a minute, he  
thought he wasn't going to see anything. But the light  
hit him, and he looked down at himself. Half his body  
was sticking out from under the wood, the rest above  
it. He had fallen down in the floor and stopped  
halfway through it. The wood cut and jabbed through  
his shirt and into his skin, blood pouring down.  
Itachi sighed and started to pull himself up, ignoring  
the sharp pain that hit him. Finally, he budged  
himself loose, though receiving severe pain, and  
pulled himself out and onto the wooden floor that  
hadn't broken. He panted, and looked at his shirt. It  
was completely torn, ready for the trashbag. The  
wounds had grown bigger when he had pulled himself out  
of the floor, and more blood poured down from his  
waist. Itachi stood up, and moved towards the ladder.  
The treehouse must've been old if he had broken  
through it. He wasn't fat, and was very light; great  
for jumping through trees in a fast pace.

It hurt to move. He had probably broken something,  
maybe a rib. He wouldn't be surprised, from the way  
the wood had been stabbed into his chest. When Itachi  
got down from the tree, he blinked to see a rope under  
the floor he had fallen through, hanging from the  
treehouse. Itachi was suspicious, but decided to  
ignore it and keep going. He had bandages, they would  
do.. for now.

Itachi looked around for where he had set his bag, and  
saw it was no longer there. He sighed, trying to  
relieve the anger that was consuming him. He sat down,  
and then got up again, deciding he should just go back  
home and finish tomorrow.

_Smart idea, get hurt everytime you go searching. _

It's your own fault for being noisy.

Shut up!

Finally, Itachi stopped fighting with himself and  
started walking back home. Mikoto was going to freak.

--------------------

Sayuri sat down across from Mikoto at the small table.  
Mikoto slowly sipped her tea, staring at the cup as  
she drank. The sun blazed on them through the windows,  
setting the mood. The house was completely empty,  
except for some groaning upstairs -- most likely from  
Itachi's room, Sayuri guessed. She remembered the  
coughing fit Itachi had had in the forest, and thought  
that Mikoto probably had him kept up in his room.

"Itachi went searching again yesterday," Mikoto said,  
setting her cup down. Sayuri nodded, even though she  
had just been denied off all explanations. Her sister  
seemed tired and frustrated; guess anyone would be if  
your youngest son went missing. In fact, Mikoto was  
taking it quite well. At the moment she was, at least.

"He fractured two ribs, and is suffering minor blood  
loss," Mikoto said, circling the inner rim of the  
teacup. Sayuri almost choked on the tea, setting it  
down quickly and coughing for a few seconds, until she  
got it out of her system. Then she looked at Mikoto as  
if she was lying, but Mikoto solemnly shook her head,  
indicating it was all the truth. Sayuri was at a loss  
for words. And then, the moment she opened her mouth  
to speak, Mikoto held up her hand.

"Don't worry about it. He'll be all right; he's very  
strong. This is just showing his concern for Sasuke,  
that's all," Mikoto said, picking her cup again and  
sipping. Sayuri nodded, sipping her tea also. The  
image of Itachi jumping through the trees as fast as  
he could go. Then, a small branch got in his way and  
he pushed it aside, and looked back at his path only  
to meet a big tree trunk. No, Itachi wasn't that  
stupid. He most likely got something jabbed, or he  
fell. Or both. God knows what the hell it could've  
been if it had been both.

"Anyway, about Sasuke. It seemed like a normal day  
when he disappeared. He always goes to the store for  
me, because I always realize I'm missing something in  
the middle of cooking. Of course, I'd make bread for  
dinner if that could've prevented Sasuke from  
vanishing," she said, pausing to sip her tea again,  
"and when he didn't return, I got worried, but hid it.  
Itachi went out to get him as I set the table. Just as  
Fugaku and me were halfway through eating, Itachi  
burst through the door, looking horribly distressed.  
The last thing I remember was Itachi saying, 'He's  
gone' right to my face. The rest I don't bother  
remembering." The story hit Sayuri with a loud bang,  
coming in slow at first, then hitting her heart at the  
last sentence. She stood up and hugged her sister  
tightly.

Before Mikoto knew it, it was 4:00, and she was still  
sobbing into her sister's chest.

---------------------

Sasuke woke again, and tried to move, only to be met  
by paining shocking through his body. He yelled in  
pain, then looked at the chains around his hands. His  
eyes moved along his body, seeing he was blood-covered  
and tear-splattered. He was a mess, and when he got  
out, the first thing he wanted was a bath. If he made  
it out, at least.

_Don't even think about that. You'll get out of this. I mean, Niisan could appear any minute now… right? _Sasuke thought to himself, looking at the wooden floor. What if his brother didn't come for him? What if Itachi finally just gave up and forgot about him? Sasuke didn't want to think about that. For hours, it felt, Sasuke stared at the ground with heartbroken, ebony eyes. The brother of his never really seemed to care much anyway; Itachi never trained with him, and he was constantly away on missions. Itachi wouldn't have time to rescue Sasuke from his own personal hell.

Slowly, the door to the room creaked open, taking Sasuke from his thoughts. The young Uchiha looked up, meeting his kidnapper's green eyes with his own.

A/N: I hope you like it. Personally, I'm not happy with this chapter.


	5. Morning Sickness

A/N: Okay… I decided to make Fugaku a better daddy! Haha, go me - even though I hate Fugaku. w Ah, well. So, yes, I finally did update. It took me forever, didn't it? Sorry it took so long. I've been busy, and the fact I was grounded. –cough- Anyway, here is it, for j00

**WARNING: This chapter contains grotesque details that may now be comfortable for you to read. Please, if you do not like this part, skip it and don't read it. I do not feel like dealing with flamers that say "YOU MADE HIM DO BLAHBLAHBLAH" or whatever. --;; **

"Fugaku, how is that search group of yours doing?" Mikoto asked one night as the couple lied down in their bed. The older Uchiha paused for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. He usually stayed awake with Mikoto until she was done reading, then he would go to sleep next to his wife; but lately, the stress had struck his sleep and he didn't fall into slumber until an hour or so later after his partner. With a sigh, Fugaku looked towards Mikoto and patted her thigh, feeling remorse strike over him.

"Not so well. There is no evidence to his location at all. It seems Itachi is doing better than the ANBU. Not a surprise, really, though," Fugaku groaned, closing his eyes. For once in his life, he could finally admit he wasn't being the best father in the world; he never noticed how much he mistreated the younger of the two siblings, always favouring Itachi over Sasuke and stating that Sasuke could never become as great as his brother. Fugaku didn't realize how hard Sasuke was trying to impress his father; always overdoing his training and spending most of his time trying to become like his brother. Now, suddenly, Fugaku sort of realized why Mikoto had pitied her son so much.

"Oh," Mikoto replied. It seemed like a dark haze came over her, as she comprehended the information that it would be very difficult to find their son. The family was getting very out of shape; Itachi's sickness wasn't getting any better, Sasuke was nowhere to be found, and Fugaku seemed to be a bit distant lately. The weather seemed to mourn with them because for the past few weeks, all they had was rain, clouds, and even a bit of hail. Mikoto couldn't remember the last time that the sun shone on their faces, drying out and ridding of some of the stress for a while. Of course, maybe it was for the best; Itachi was getting severe migraines lately, and the sun would most likely just make them worse. Seeing Fugaku's misery, he leaned up and kissed her on the cheek, desperate to comfort her.

"Don't worry. We'll find him." The only response Mikoto showed was a nod, until she placed her bookmark in her book and closed it shut. Setting it on the nightstand, she reached over to the lamp and turned it off. Fugaku sighed and slid back into the bed, waiting for his wife to do the same. Mikoto paused, but finally did lie down all the way and cuddle next to her husband. Sleep suddenly seemed like a very soothing thing right now. That didn't necessarily mean that her dreams would be joyful, though.

As he stared into his abductor's eyes, he realized how much those green orbs terrified him, sending him into a torturous corner, leaving him to cry in his misery. The Uchiha felt like curling into a ball and sob, but he wouldn't, of course; the strong shinobi of Konoha Village never cry about such foolish things. Sasuke got rid of his scared face and put on his game face, scowling at the green-eyed man in front of him. Staring at that face of his, Saseko knew that the Uchiha would grow up and become a custom to this new scowl of his.

"You might not want to mess with me, kid. I'm not exactly in the best mood," warned Saseko, glaring right back at the younger boy. Though Sasuke felt like withdrawing the match of looks, he kept his guard and continued to face his opponent.

"Unless you want me to spray pesticide in your eyes, you better stop that," snapped Saseko, now regretting to talk to the kid. He hadn't seen him in about a day, and in that day, it seemed the Uchiha had gotten some attitude, which was added to his extreme sensitivity. Maybe the kid would finally learn to not show that side of himself to people; that could easily ruin your social status. But if this kid got an attitude, he'd be the most popular kid in the school. Saseko growled lowly. He wasn't here to help the kid; he was here to make his life a living nightmare.

"Be quiet, loser," Sasuke snapped, suddenly feeling a bit threatened by all of these insults Saseko was throwing at him. He never remembered ever experiencing so much anger inside of him, but now it seemed as if his temper was getting very, very short; Saseko was now feeling the same, as he felt himself ready to pound the Uchiha a good one.

"Don't snap at me!" roared Saseko, clenching his hands into a fist. What had riled this kid up? Walking over to the restricted child, he took out his pocketknife, a raging glare filling his emerald eyes. Some sort of nervous swept over Sasuke, but he kept a serious face on, trying not to give in. Starting now, Sasuke would become stronger, mentally.

"You're not my mother." At that, Saseko slashed the blade across Sasuke's cheek. The Uchiha yelped, biting his lower lip to hold him back from yelling with pain. The blood was pouring quickly down his cheek; he could feel it. Slowly, Saseko lowered the knife again, the blade gracing the tender skin on his neck. Shakes started to run through the little one's body.

"I told you I wasn't in the best of moods," Saseko grumbled, then swiped the blade away from his neck, sticking it back in his pocket. Without another word, he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. After that, Saseko decided that he wouldn't tell Sasuke about his departure from his house. In fact, he would leave for an extra day! Keep the kid hanging, starving and as skinny as a bone! How fun it would be to see Sasuke when he came back, saliva dripping down his mouth, and his charcoal eyes glittering with fresh tears, covering the dry ones. A snicker came out of Saseko as he walked out of the house, continuing down the pathway. What a great sight that would be, seeing an Uchiha heir in such a vulnerable condition. Finally, he got farther down the path and calmed down. A straight face came back on as a man came up to him.

"Sir, have you seen this child?"

Saseko immediately recognized the man as Fugaku Uchiha; just from the way the man looked and spoke when his mouth opened. The serious tone, that goddamn leadership he had coming off of him. Anyway, he could've guessed it was an Uchiha seeing the "Lost" poster he held up to Saseko. The green-eyed man had to bite back a laugh when he saw the picture of a young boy, no older than 8, sitting with his obsidian locks and wide, innocent eyes. If the young boy's father wasn't facing him, he would've laughed and yelled, "Yep, that's the kid alright! Little bastard, he is!"

Taking a closer look, Saseko saw there was another boy in the picture with Sasuke. This other male was taller, broader, and looked more apathetic – stronger. He looked very similar, appearance-wise, to Sasuke, except for what Saseko could clearly see in the other's eyes - arrogance and superiority. The younger Uchiha seemed to always be determined for something, from what Saseko knew about Sasuke so far, but the other Uchiha seemed to be bored with everything . . . but maybe it was just the picture.

"Which one?" asked Saseko, finally, looking back up at Fugaku. A look of disbelief flashed across the older man's face, but it quickly faded as Fugaku realized now everyone knew his son.

"The younger one… this one," he answered, pointing to Sasuke. Biting back a smirk, Saseko pretended to look at it closely then shook his head in a "no" answer. Disappointed reeked all over Fugaku as he gave a simply "well, thank you, anyway" and walked off to put up the stack of _LOST _posters he had under his arm. As Saseko walked away, a smirk emerged on his face.

Ah, how he loved to fuck with the lives of arrogance.

Blood poured from Sasuke's wrists, but he was free. The chains were also covered in blood, and this would leave obvious evidence that he had escaped the metal restraints.

Too bad, at least he was free.

Whimpering, the young Uchiha finally managed to crawl over to the door and use the doorknob as a hold, forcing himself to stand up. Pain ran through his muscles, but he ignored it; a true shinobi would not be held back by mere pain, right? All of his lessons and lectures were a haze at the moment. In fact, even being at home and training seemed like a dream. just a dream, and dreams never came true.

His hand started to turn the doorknob. Disappointment came over him to find the door locked. He had no weapons to open it with, either, so what could he do? Looking around, he saw that damned window again. Sure, the shades were down and the window was most likely locked, also, but windows were always locked from the inside. Slowly walking over to the window, he tried his last stunt again, except much quieter. He had to be extra careful, or else he would get caught again. That wasn't an option; Sasuke didn't think he could deal with one more day in this hellhole. Sneakily, he unlocked the latch to the window and pulled the blinds. Sunlight shone on his face, and he almost jumped at the sudden warmth. Taking a deep breath, he quietly started to open the window, hearing the birds chirping freely outside.

_Why couldn't he be a bird?_

"Oh no," he muttered to himself, staring at the screen behind the glass window. Of course, most windows had screens now. He'd have to push his way through it, but how? Looking around, he saw nothing he could use as a weapon to open the screen. Gulping, he realized what he had to do. Closing his eyes, he outstretched his hand, and started to claw at the screen. He could feel his skin almost ripping from it, but he had to do this, or else he'd be condemned to this place forever. The metal pierced his skin like razorblades, causing most of his skin to open up on his arms. The grotesque sight was making him feel sick inside, but he kept going. Fresh blood covered the old as he started to make an entrance in the screen. After much blood and yelps of pain, Sasuke finally made a small hole in the screen. Hot tears streaming down his face, he started to climb out of the window. The screen's new, sharp edges ripped at his shirt, and then it scraped against his newly exposed back, causing pained screams to overcome him. Finally, he made it out and fell into the bushes, branches and small thorns pricking his sides. Crawling out of the plant, he landed on his back on the grass, panting and whimpering in pain. He'd never had to deal with such overwhelming pain before, and he hoped he would never have to again. A weird feeling started up in the pit of his stomach. Clenching his lips together shut, he sat up and leaned over the grass, and then he opened his mouth to let the vomit fall onto the ground. After he finishing puking, he sat there, panting and trying to regain himself. Finally, whining like a lost puppy, he slowly got to his feet and limped away, trying to go as fast as possible in order to escape the doom that awaited inside the house behind him.

Itachi walked in the forest, trying to find where that house went; it couldn't have just gotten up and walked off! Even if it did, it would've caused extreme vibration, almost like an earthquake, and everyone would've – what was he talking about? Surely, he was going crazy. Sighing, he dug deeper into the forest.

Finally, he saw what he'd been looking for – deep in the forest was that house. Maybe the house had always been there, but someone had planted new trees to hide it. Whatever it was, he was curious. Walking over, he heard crumpling of leaves. Blinking, he started to make his way over there, when..

"Excuse me!" a voice said behind him, grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. Itachi kept his cool, though, and looked to the figure in front of him. The man had red hair and green eyes, which shot daggers at him. He could tell the man was furious. Looking around, he saw why he was so angry; there was a sign that said "Private Property: No Trespassing" in front of the house. Embarrassment swept over him as he looked back to the man.

"Sorry… Didn't see the sign," Itachi stated, pointing to the said object. The man scowled at him, then let go of him. Itachi almost smirked at his insolence, at both of their insolent behaviour, actually. Obviously, this man wasn't the nicest of men, since he was giving Itachi that face; oh, Itachi knew that face all too well. Now, he was going to get snapped at. Sighing, he raised his hand.

"I'm going off your property now," he told, smiling sheepishly – if that's possible – and slowly walking away. The man glared at him until Itachi had gotten quite far away, no longer visible to the stranger's emerald eyes. Sighing, he walked the rest of the way out of the forest silently, suspicious of what that man had been so angry about; I mean, all he did was step onto his property.

Oh, well. It wasn't really worth looking in to.

Saseko watched intently as the older Uchiha stepped away, soon enough far away enough that Saseko knew he was almost out of the woods. Looking back to the house, he started to walk towards it. He had been so hotheaded about his incident with Sasuke that he had forgotten his bag. Sighing, he started to walk towards the front when he heard a noise nearby. Looking to his side, he saw something that made him so angry, that maybe even Canada could see the fumes.

"SASUKE!" he roared, not caring who heard. Young, onyx eyes looked towards Saseko, fear and worry welling up inside the young Uchiha. Running over angrily, he grabbed the little Uchiha's arm before he could run any farther. A grimace appeared on his face when he saw the blood covering Sasuke's arm. His green orbs examined the Sasuke's body, and visually, it wasn't too pretty. In fact, it was very, very grotesque; blood was spilled all over his small figure, his skin was basically opened everywhere, and leftover barf resided around his lips. Meeting his eyes with Sasuke's, he saw the pain that the young boy had gone through in order to escape the place.

"Well, I'll hand it to you… It was a nice try, but… hurting yourself just wasn't worth it."

_No… It couldn't have been worthless! I… _Sasuke argued to himself in his mind, cursing himself secretly. How foolish he was! Eyeing Saseko with anger and anxiety, he couldn't believe that Saseko couldn't be a shinobi. Well, he didn't have any proof that he wasn't, but his kidnapper showed no sign of being one. Letting his muscles relax, he looked down in shame, his obsidian bangs covered his face.

He was no shinobi; he was weak, a failure. No wonder his father favoured his brother over him. Sasuke couldn't even climb out a window and escape a house. He couldn't blame his family for his abduction anymore; he had let himself become vulnerable, and now he was paying for his idiocy. Sasuke paid no attention as Saseko dragged him back into the house. The pain was ignored as he was thrown back into the room, the chains being clenched tightly around his wounded arms. Surely, this would cause infection, but he didn't really care. Sasuke had mortified himself so much that even when Saseko snapped and threatened at him, all he heard was "blahblahblah" and nodded with everything he said.

Failure.

What kind of shinobi fails at such an easy task? Images of his brother ran through his head; Itachi never gave up, never lost. Oh, how much he missed his aniki right now… just the thought of Itachi scooping him up in his arms seemed so blissful at the moment. Sure, Itachi rarely paid much attention to him, but it was still nice when he did. After Saseko left, Sasuke made a strict goal for himself.

Sasuke _would _survive, and he would survive for Itachi. If he died so young, he needed to see Itachi before he did so.

Yes, being in his brother's arms once more was something to live for.

Itachi lay in the grass, staring into the sky as the sun warmed his body up. The heat on his skin felt great, especially since his sickness had caused him to feel extremely cold lately. His fever was lessening, though, but his worry did not. As much as his little brother had annoyed him to no end, he still missed the little pest. It was quiet, tension-filled, and awkward in the house now that Sasuke was gone. Sighing, he watched a small bird fly from a tree and next to him, chirping happily. A scowl came onto Itachi's face as he waved his hand at it, causing it to be frightened and fly off.

Pondering, he looked back to the action he just made. Sasuke often acted like a bird - carefree and flying around, almost always happy. And there Itachi had just been, swishing the bird away.

Suddenly, he regretted shooing his little brother away so many times.

He had swished Sasuke away from him, and now his little brother could be gone from his life forever. The thought struck at his cold heart. Did he really elude Sasuke from coming home? Maybe Sasuke ran away because of his abandonment in the family. No… that wasn't like Sasuke. Besides, the evidence showed that he had to be abducted… right? Sasuke wouldn't be so angry with Itachi to just leave, would he?

Groaning, he rolled on his side and decided it was a waste to think about. He'd settle the argument later. Slowly, he fell asleep, not seeing the figure slowly creep towards him from the forest nearby.

A/N: Fantastico! Wa-lah! Here you have it. XDD; Have fun. I'll start Chapter 6 whenever I get unlazy enough.

Should I rewrite chapters 1-3??


	6. Author's Note

-1A/N: This story is officially discontinued. My apologies, but not only do I have no idea where to take it, but I'm going to be redoing it. There will be more plot, but it will be more adult -- as in, a more crude plot, violence, sexual content, and all of that adult stuff. And it'll go much more to the actual plot going on in the current Naruto manga, I suppose.

If anyone has any ideas, though, to help me get this fanfiction going again, go for it. As of the moment, though, I do not see a point in continuing.

-Jackie-


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